Targeted Communication

At the end of the day, the headshot doesn't get you the job. It doesn't get you the audition. It gets the casting director to turn the picture over to read the resume. Then if the director has any interest, if the credits reflect similar roles to the one she's casting or if there's something that catches her eye, she flips it back over to the picture and says, "Is this guy my Hamlet?" If the picture does its job, it lands your resume in the "Yes" pile and you get a call.

Or, the headshot serves as a visual reminder of your audition. It has to look like you, but it should also evoke your personal style, perhaps characterize the monologue. If your headshot looks like everyone else's, I can tell you from experience, that after about the tenth monologue, all actors start to blend together. Your monologue was selected to show you off to your best advantage. It was carefully prepared. Shouldn't your headshot have more preparation than standing next to an open window on a sunny day?

A good headhsot is a well-thought-out part of an overall strategy that targets specific segments of the entertainment market, be that genres, such as film, musical theater, television, industrials, etc; or types of roles, such as epic, tragic, light comic. A good headshot does more than just "capture your essence," (whatever that means) or shows what you look like. And in spite of what photographers tell you, the photo shoot is more than "fun." It's work, and it's your job to work with the photographer to make it look effortless. Just like rehearsal, a good shoot is focused. And the focus is on communicating to your audience who you are within the context of the industry.

The most successful actors know what their professional goals are. Yet, ask an actor what type of work he wants, and most will hesitate in giving an answer. Either he's embarrassed or afraid or doesn't know. But that ambiguity shows, not only in his answer but his headshot.

It shows.

The Archetype Images mission is to work with professionals to help them create a marketing image that speaks to their targeted market segments. Beginning with the consultation, the discussion is all about where you see your career going and how we can visually communicate that to the weary casting director who has seen three hundred pictures of smiling actors backed against a brick wall and shot in natural light, beaming their essence.